
NOTE.—"The commandment to restore
and build Jerusalem, as completed by the
decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra
6:14; 7:1, 9, margin), went into effect in
the autumn of B.c. 457. From this time
four hundred and eighty-three years extend
to the autumn of A.D. 27. According to the
prophecy, this period was to reach to the
Messiah, the Anointed One. In A.D. 27, Je-
sus at His baptism received the anointing
of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward be-
gan His ministry. Then the message was
proclaimed, 'The time is fulfilled.' . . .
"'In the midst of the week He shall
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.'
Dan. 9:27. In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ
the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary.
Then the veil of the temple was rent in
twain, showing that the sacredness and sig-
nificance of the sacrificial service had
departed. The time had come for the
earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease."—
The Desire of Ages,
page 233.
The Cross in Christ's Teachings
5.
How clearly did Jesus, during
His earthly ministry, foresee the
cross? How emphatically did He state
the necessity of His coming death at
Jerusalem? Matt. 16:2 1; Luke 9:22;
18:31-33.
NoTE.—"Before Him, in vivid outline,
lay the scenes whither His feet were tend-
ing. Even before He took humanity upon
Him, He saw the whole length of the path
He must travel in order to save that which
was lost. Every pang that rent His heart,
every insult that was heaped upon His
head, every privation that He was called to
endure, was open to His view before He
laid aside His crown and royal robe, and
stepped down from the throne, to clothe
His divinity with humanity. The path from
the manger to Calvary was all before His
eyes. He knew the anguish that would
come upon Him. He knew it all, and yet
He said, 'Lc), I come: in the volume of the
Book it is written of Me, I delight to do
Thy will, 0 My God: yea, Thy law is with-
in My heart.' Ps. 40:7,
8."—The Desire of
Ages,
page 410.
6.
In illustrating the spirit of self-
denial and sacrifice, how did our
Lord appear to indicate the manner
of death which awaited Him? Matt.
16:24, 25; 10:38; Luke 14:27.
NoTE.—"Jesus now explained to His dis-
ciples that His own life of self-abnegation
was an example of what theirs should be.
. . . The cross was associated with the
power of Rome. It was the instrument of
the most cruel and humiliating form of
death. . . . But Jesus bade His followers
take up the cross and bear it after Him.
. . . No more complete self-surrender
could the Saviour's words have pictured.
But all this He had accepted 'for them. Je-
sus did not count heaven a place to be de-
sired while we were lost. He left the
heavenly courts for a life of reproach and
insult, and a death of shame. . . . We are
to follow in the path He trod."—The
De-
sire of Ages,
pages 416, 417.
7.
As a good shepherd, what did
Christ foretell that He would do for
His sheep? What does Paul say
Christ did for the flock? John 10:11,
15-18; Acts 20:28.
NOTE.—"While as a member of the hu-
man family He was mortal, as God He was
the fountain of life for the world. He
could have withstood the advances of
death, and refused to come under its do-
minion; but voluntarily He laid down His
life, that He might bring life and immor-
tality to light. He bore the sin of the
world, endured its curse, yielded up His
life as a sacrifice, that men might not
eternally
tlie."—The Desire of Ages,
pp.
483, 484 (1940 ed., p. 484).
The Lord's Supper
8.
In what striking words did Je-
sus declare Himself to be the source
of life? How only are we to receive
this life? John 6:51-56.
NOTE.—"Our Lord has said, 'Except ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink
His blood, ye have no life
in
you. . . . For
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